The Wait

From 2006 to 2016, United States Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) granted citizenship to over 6.6 million immigrants. What do you need to become a citizen? How do you apply for citizenship? What does it mean to be a citizen of the United States?

In the winter of 2016, CUP collaborated with Teaching Artist Meredith Degyansky and public high school students from the KAPPA International High School in the Bronx to dig a little deeper into citizenship. Students got out of the classroom and into the middle of the immigration debate to survey their school community and interview key officials on immigration policies. Students created The Wait booklet as a step-by-step guide to citizenship.

Students debuted their project at the Bronx Museum of the Arts, where they presented their booklet, demonstrated their interview skills, and shared the creative process.

What People are Saying

“By me being in this program, I am more aware of what’s been in front of me this whole time. I still have family members trying to get their citizenship and I think that still affects me even though I was born here.” – Gifty Boanoh, student

“This program opened my eyes more to what immigrants really have to go through. I learned about the costs of citizenship. I didn’t really know until I went through this program how many organizations were in New York City to help immigrants.” – Jasmine Aponte, student